Tuesday, February 10, 2026

District Attorney Hochman: Lunar New Year Could Be Target for Crime

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Next week’s Lunar New Year could be a prime target for criminals that watch for bank customers who withdraw large amounts of cash, officials warned Monday.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman and other law enforcement officials from across the county urged the public to stay vigilant, especially when withdrawing and depositing money at banks and ATMs.

“Individuals visiting banks and ATMs are prime targets for criminal opportunists, especially during major holidays such as the upcoming Lunar New Year,” Hochman said in a statement.

“I urge the public to remain aware of their surroundings when conducting banking business. Trust your instincts if you believe something appears suspicious, report it immediately. Let me be clear: To those thinking of engaging in criminal conduct, please heed this warning that you will be arrested, prosecuted, and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, falls on Feb.

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

LA County Board of Supervisors to Consider Sales Tax Hike for Healthcare

By JOSE HERRERA, City News Service

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected to vote Tuesday on a proposal to place a half-cent sales tax increase on the June primary ballot, which officials say will support health care services amid reductions in state and federal funding.

The five-member board will decide whether to approve or reject a proposal introduced by Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis in January. The proposed measure  called the Essential Services Restoration Act  would ask voters whether to enact a half-cent general sales tax increase for five years through Oct. 1, 2031.

An estimated $1 billion would be generated from the measure, according to the county.

The county sales tax currently stands at 9.75%. The latest proposed hike would increase it to 10.25%.

The county sales tax already increased in April 2025 after voters approved Measure A, a half-cent sales hike that replaced Measure H, a quarter- cent sales tax.

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Red Cross Says Winter Storms Leave 20,000 Blood Donations Uncollected

Recent winter storms across the country have deepened an already severe national blood shortage, leaving more than 20,000 blood and platelet donations uncollected and prompting the American Red Cross to urge donors — including those in Pasadena — to give as soon as they can, the organization said Tuesday in a statement.

The Red Cross reported that over 500 blood drives have been canceled since the start of the year because of snow, ice and extreme temperatures across the U.S. The disruptions have also made it harder to transport blood products, potentially affecting deliveries to hospitals.

According to the Red Cross, patient care is at risk as hospitals face shortfalls that have already forced some facilities to cancel elective procedures. The organization warned that when supplies reach critically low levels, trauma surgeons and other physicians may face the possibility of running out of blood during emergencies.

Donors in areas not affected by severe weather are being asked to make appointments immediately through the Red Cross Blood Donor App,

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Pasadena Mayor to Join Supervisors Mitchell, Solis at Morning Press Conference Backing Proposed County Sales Tax Ballot Measure

Mayor Victor Gordo is scheduled to join Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis at a morning news conference outlining a proposed temporary half-cent sales tax increase that is on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ Tuesday agenda.

The proposal, according to information provided in the event announcement, would place the tax increase on the June primary ballot “to help address more than $2.4 billion in federal funding cuts to the Los Angeles County healthcare system resulting from the Trump administration’s passage of H.R.1” — the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Mitchell and Solis will outline the proposal at 8:45 a.m. on Temple Street outside the Board Hearing Room at the Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple St., ahead of the board’s 9:30 a.m. meeting. They will be joined by Gordo, a group of local healthcare leaders and “families and patients that rely on Medi-Cal,” according to the announcement.

The five-member board will decide whether to approve or reject a proposal introduced by Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis in January.

Monday, February 9, 2026

The Fire Didn’t Touch Every Home. But Grief Did.

By THERESE EDU

Mental Health Monday sessions are confronting a quiet epidemic of survivor’s guilt in the San Gabriel foothills

A year after the Eaton Fire, a monthly Monday evening mental health program in Pasadena has become a communal meeting ground — where survivors who lost their homes and neighbors who didn’t are discovering that the disaster left no one untouched, and that guilt can wound deeply, like loss.

The monthly program, Mental Health Monday, is sponsored by LA Fire Justice.

“A year later, they are actually reliving the moment all over again,” said Janet Popoola, LA Fire Justice’s Community Outreach Representative, describing what she observes when survivors return to their properties. “There hasn’t been time or space to pause and process what they went through, because survival mode took over so quickly.”

The program’s deliberate expansion beyond direct survivors marks a shift in how this community defines recovery.

Mental Health Monday now explicitly welcomes people whose homes didn’t burn — neighbors carrying survivor’s guilt,

Monday, February 9, 2026

Pharmacy and Lab Workers Join Kaiser Permanente Strike as Nurses Enter Third Week

STAFF REPORT

More than 4,000 UFCW members walk off the job Monday at the Pasadena-headquartered health care system

More than 4,000 pharmacy and laboratory workers began an open-ended strike against Kaiser Permanente on Monday, February 9, joining approximately 31,000 nurses and health care professionals who have been on strike since January 26 at the health care system whose Southern California regional headquarters is in Pasadena.

The walkout by members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union expands the work stoppage at Kaiser Permanente, which manages its Southern California operations from 393 E. Walnut St. in the Pasadena Civic Center and serves 4.9 million members in the region. The unions say Kaiser has committed unfair labor practices by refusing to bargain in good faith. Kaiser, in a statement issued Sunday from its Pasadena headquarters, called the strikes “unnecessary, disruptive for our members and patients, and counterproductive to reaching a contract agreement.”

UFCW members walked off the job at 7 a.m.

Monday, February 9, 2026

California Union Pushes Work-from-Home Bill As Newsom Calls State Employees Back to the Office

By Yue Stella Yu, CALMATTERS

One of California’s larger public employee unions is pushing legislation to make remote work a permanent option for state workers as the clock ticks down on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s July 1 mandate for most employees to be in the office four days a week.

The measure, authored by Assemblymember Alex Lee, a Milpitas Democrat, would require state agencies to offer work-from-home options “to the fullest extent possible” and provide written justifications when they require employees to work in person, according to a press release from the Professional Engineers in California Government. The union represents more than 15,000 state engineers who mostly work for Caltrans and in environmental agencies.

The bill would also require the state to establish a dashboard to document the annual savings as a result of remote work. The Department of General Services, which manages contracts and real estate for the state government, published that information until ending the practice in 2024.

Monday, February 9, 2026

Year of the Horse Celebrations Gallop Into 59 LA County Parks Starting Feb. 12

Altadena’s Loma Alta Park is among free countywide Lunar New Year sites offering cultural performances, crafts, and food

[Updated] This article has been corrected from an earlier version that incorrectly listed Farnsworth Park, Altadena, as the event location. The Lunar New Year celebration will be held at Loma Alta Park, located at 3330 Lincoln Avenue, Altadena, CA 91001.]

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation will host free Lunar New Year celebrations at 59 parks across the county from February 12 through 28, the department announced in a press release.

Loma Alta Park in Altadena is among the participating sites, according to the department’s website, offering Pasadena and Altadena residents a nearby venue for the annual cultural celebration.

The Lunar New Year officially begins February 17, ushering in the Year of the Horse on the Chinese zodiac calendar.

Events countywide are expected to feature lion and dragon dances, cultural music and dance performances, interactive arts and crafts,

Monday, February 9, 2026

L.A. County Rent Relief Program Reopens Monday, Now Lets Tenants Apply Directly

Eaton Fire survivors and residents facing emergency hardship can seek grants of up to $15,000 for past-due rent

Tenants who owe back rent because of the Eaton Fire or other emergency financial hardships can begin applying directly to Los Angeles County’s Emergency Rent Relief Program on Monday — a change from the program’s first round, when only landlords could submit applications.

The expansion, announced by the county last week, opens a path for displaced Altadena residents and others across L.A. County who have fallen behind on rent, mortgage payments, or utility costs. The program provides grants of up to $15,000 per rental unit, covering up to six months of debt. Applications open at 9 a.m. Monday at LACountyRentRelief.com and close March 11 at 4:59 p.m.

The program is administered by the county Department of Consumer and Business Affairs in partnership with The Center by Lendistry and is directed by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, according to county press releases.

Monday, February 9, 2026

Pasadena Temple Commissions Artist Who Lost Her Work in the Eaton Fire to Lead Community Mural

Miki Yokoyama invites fire-affected neighbors to paint alongside her three days a week on the temple grounds

An artist who lost her home and nearly her entire body of work in the Eaton Fire is now leading a community mural project at the Pasadena Buddhist Temple, where anyone affected by the blaze can pick up a brush and help paint. 

The temple commissioned Miki Yokoyama, a self-taught artist who had lived in Altadena for 13 years before the fire destroyed her family’s home in January 2025, according to a report in the Rafu Shimpo. Yokoyama lost not just her house but her supplies and countless paintings — nearly her entire body of work, according to a GoFundMe campaign set up by friends of the family. 

The mural project, which the temple calls the “Hope & Healing” Mural Project, began February 1 and is open to all fire-affected residents. 

Painting sessions take place Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 10 a.m.